Banks and Tech Companies Pull US Stocks Slightly Lower

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are barely lower Wednesday morning as banks and technology companies give back some of their gains from earlier in the week. Apple continues to take small losses as investors contemplate its new lineup of iPhones and other products. Energy companies and retailers are trading higher.

ON SALE? Department store chain Nordstrom climbed after CNBC reported that the Nordstrom family is close to a deal to take the company private. The stock has risen over the last three months following talk that descendants of co-founder John Nordstrom might buy the 70 percent of the company they don’t already own. Several of the company’s top executives are Nordstrom family members. The stock gained $2.69, or 6 percent, to $47.74.

IF THEY CAN MAKE IT THERE: Medicaid coverage provider Centene said it will expand into New York through a $3.75 billion acquisition of Fidelis Care. Its stock jumped $6.02, or 6.6 percent, to $96.90. Centene focuses most of its business on the state and federal Medicaid programs, but it has also expanded into several states over the past year through the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges.

JILTED: Hard drive maker Western Digital slumped $4.63, or 5.2 percent, to $84.15 after its partner Toshiba said it will sell its computer memory business to a consortium led by Bain Capital Private Equity. Western Digital wants to buy that business and has filed a lawsuit to stop it from selling that business to anyone else. Toshiba has said it needs to sell the division to help counteract losses by its Westinghouse Electric nuclear business, which filed for bankruptcy protection in March.